AMD Radeon RX 550X vs NVIDIA Quadro P4000 Comparison

AMD Radeon RX 550X and NVIDIA Quadro P4000 are both end-of-life workstation-oriented GPUs, but they target vastly different performance tiers, as the benchmark data starkly illustrates. The RX 550X, built on AMD's 14nm GCN 4.0 architecture, is a low-power entry-level part, while the Quadro P4000, fabricated on NVIDIA's 16nm Pascal architecture, is a professional card designed for higher compute and graphics workloads. The data shows a decisive performance gap across all shared benchmark tests, with the Quadro P4000 delivering scores that are roughly 3.7 to 3.8 times higher than the RX 550X.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head comparison consists of exactly two benchmark tests: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In both instances, the NVIDIA Quadro P4000 is the clear winner, and the margin is substantial. The data shows the AMD Radeon RX 550X scoring 9,662 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the NVIDIA Quadro P4000 achieves a score of 36,212. This results in a delta of -73.3% for the AMD card, meaning the Quadro P4000 is approximately 275% faster in this compute-oriented test. This is not a marginal victory; it is a dominant performance sweep.

The second test, Geekbench Vulkan, tells a similar story. The RX 550X posts a score of 11,299, whereas the Quadro P4000 reaches 41,786. The delta is -73%, again indicating a massive performance advantage for the NVIDIA card. In both tests, the Quadro P4000's scores are over three and a half times greater than those of the RX 550X. The consistency of this gap across both OpenCL and Vulkan APIs suggests that the performance difference is not API-specific but rather a fundamental reflection of the hardware disparity between the two cards.

Looking at the broader benchmark landscape, the RX 550X has an average benchmark score of 10,481, placing it in the 49th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla C2075 (avg score 10,400, delta 0.8%), the AMD Radeon R9 M275X (avg score 10,582, delta -1%), and the AMD Radeon RX 6500M (avg score 10,362, delta 1.2%). This places the RX 550X firmly in a low-to-mid-range performance bracket, where scores cluster around the 10,000 to 10,600 mark.

In contrast, the Quadro P4000's average benchmark score is 9,665, which is actually lower than the RX 550X's average, despite its massive win in the Geekbench tests. This puts the Quadro P4000 in the 47th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 (avg score 9,653, delta 0.1%), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M (avg score 9,645, delta 0.2%), and the NVIDIA Quadro K5000 (avg score 9,637, delta 0.3%). The delta percentages here are all within about half a percent, indicating that the Quadro P4000's average score is highly sensitive to the specific workload, with its Geekbench compute scores being exceptionally high while other tests, like Passmark DirectX 9 (score 181) or Passmark DirectX 12 (score 40), are comparatively low. This suggests that the Quadro P4000 excels in specific compute tasks but may not be as universally dominant in legacy or specific DirectX workloads.

The Verdict

From the data, the choice is unambiguous for raw compute performance: the NVIDIA Quadro P4000 is the superior card. It wins both head-to-head benchmark tests by a margin of over 73%, which translates to roughly 2.75 times the performance in Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan. Anyone needing maximum compute throughput for professional applications, as indicated by these tests, should choose the Quadro P4000 without hesitation. The data shows that the RX 550X cannot compete in this arena.

However, the average benchmark scores introduce a nuance that prevents a purely one-sided verdict. The RX 550X's average score of 10,481 is higher than the Quadro P4000's 9,665. This is an important distinction because it suggests that the Quadro P4000's performance is not uniformly better across all types of workloads. The Quadro P4000's average score is dragged down by weak showings in tests like Passmark DirectX 9 (score 181), Passmark DirectX 11 (score 86), and Passmark DirectX 10 (score 66). Conversely, the RX 550X does not have those specific benchmark results in the data, so its average is based solely on its two strong Geekbench scores. Therefore, the Quadro P4000 is the pick for compute-heavy tasks, while the RX 550X might be better suited for scenarios where its specific driver optimizations or feature set align with legacy graphics workloads, though the data does not fully support this conclusion.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro P4000 wins decisively, scoring 36,212 against the AMD Radeon RX 550X's 9,662, a delta of -73.3% for the AMD card.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each card?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 550X has an average benchmark score of 10,481, while the NVIDIA Quadro P4000 has an average benchmark score of 9,665.

Q: Are there any benchmark tests where the AMD Radeon RX 550X outperforms the NVIDIA Quadro P4000?

A: No. In the head-to-head benchmark data provided, which includes Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan, the NVIDIA Quadro P4000 wins both tests. The AMD card wins 0 tests, and the NVIDIA card wins 2.

Q: How do the two cards compare in the Geekbench Vulkan test?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro P4000 scores 41,786, while the AMD Radeon RX 550X scores 11,299, giving the NVIDIA card a -73% delta advantage over the AMD card.

Q: What is the percentile ranking of each GPU among all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 550X is in the 49th percentile, and the NVIDIA Quadro P4000 is in the 47th percentile.

Q: Which card has a higher average score than its nearest listed rival?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 550X has an average score of 10,481, which is 0.8% higher than its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla C2075 (avg score 10,400). The NVIDIA Quadro P4000 has an average score of 9,665, which is 0.1% higher than its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100 (avg score 9,653).

Specification Differences

The most fundamental hardware differences between the two cards are stark. The AMD Radeon RX 550X is built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, while the NVIDIA Quadro P4000 uses a 16 nm process at TSMC. The transistor counts differ massively: the RX 550X has 2,200 million transistors on a 103 mm² die, whereas the Quadro P4000 packs 7,200 million transistors on a 314 mm² die. This leads to a transistor density of 21.4M / mm² for the AMD chip and 22.9M / mm² for the NVIDIA chip.

Clock speeds also vary. The RX 550X has a base clock of 1100 MHz and a boost clock of 1183 MHz, with memory clocked at 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective). The Quadro P4000 runs higher, with a base clock of 1202 MHz and a boost clock of 1480 MHz, and memory at 1901 MHz (7.6 Gbps effective). Memory configuration is a major differentiator: the RX 550X has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 96.00 GB/s of bandwidth, while the Quadro P4000 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing 243.3 GB/s.

Compute resources are also heavily skewed. The RX 550X has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The Quadro P4000 has 1792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. This results in a pixel rate of 18.93 GPixel/s and texture rate of 37.86 GTexel/s for the AMD card, versus 94.72 GPixel/s and 165.8 GTexel/s for the NVIDIA card. FP32 performance is 1,211.4 GFLOPS for the RX 550X, while the Quadro P4000 delivers 5.304 TFLOPS. Notably, the FP16 performance differs drastically: the RX 550X achieves 1,211.4 GFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio, while the Quadro P4000 only manages 82.88 GFLOPS at a 1:64 ratio.

Architecture Differences

The architectural philosophies diverge significantly. The AMD Radeon RX 550X uses the GCN 4.0 architecture, specifically the Lexa chip, and is part of the Polaris (RX 500X) generation. The NVIDIA Quadro P4000, meanwhile, is based on the Pascal architecture with the GP104 chip, belonging to the Quadro Pascal (Px000) generation. The RX 550X supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The Quadro P4000 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, indicating a slightly more modern API feature set.

Physical and power characteristics also differ. The RX 550X is a dual-slot card with no power connectors and a TDP of 50 W, requiring a 250 W PSU. It measures 145 mm (5.7 inches) in length. The Quadro P4000 is a single-slot card with a 1x 6-pin power connector and a TDP of 105 W, requiring a 300 W PSU. It is longer at 241 mm (9.5 inches) and has a defined height of 111 mm (4.4 inches). Display outputs differ as well: the RX 550X offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the Quadro P4000 provides 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The bus interface is also different, with the RX 550X using PCIe 3.0 x8 and the Quadro P4000 using PCIe 3.0 x16. The Quadro P4000 has a launch MSRP of 815 USD. The RX 550X's predecessor is Polaris, with a successor of Vega, while the Quadro P4000's predecessor is Quadro Maxwell and its successor is Quadro Volta.